Email campaigns are a great business marketing tool that, however, works in one hand bringing incredible returns and doesn’t work at all in another. Have you ever wondered why? What in your email marketing strategy hampers your success sending your messages right into your dream clients’ trash bins? We’ll try to break down the issue focusing on the most popular email marketing mistakes you should avoid.
Contents
Buying email lists instead of building your own
Sending emails to people who have no idea who you are is a lost cause. Instead, focus on people who’ve already heard about you. Start from your own email contacts (enabling the sharing option) and expand your database using sign up fields on your website, landing pages, call-to-action on social media, etc.
Not willing to pay for automation
We are so spoiled with cheap or free solutions (like those best free blog websites, etc.) that we get too stingy when it comes to paid though efficient email marketing automation software. Services that save tones of your time, provide insight into the invisible (analytics), offer professional-looking email templates and manage your contacts are priceless in email marketing.
Not taking time to A/B test your message
Emails must be short (up to 250 words), sweet, and to the point. Take time to practice and create several versions to show your colleagues and friends and then choose the most winning one.
Writing flat subject lines
Today, recipients are fed up with marketing emails, and they are pretty immune against cliché opening lines. If you don’t approach them with something fresh, engaging and conversational, you lose your clients prematurely. A good tip for the subject line is to ask a question pushing on your target audience’s pain points to make them care.
Failing to personalize your message
If you think personalization is all about the recipient’s name in the subject line, you are taking it wrong. Personalization is about speaking directly to your recipient’s emotions and life circumstances. This is only possible if you segment your database by categories (like age, profession, income, interests) and craft a custom, highly relevant email for each category.
Not paying attention to your analytics
Tracking your recipients’ reaction helps you adjust your email campaign to reach your dream results. For example, do they eat your bait (click your URL) or unsubscribe? Will your open-rates be higher if you switch to another sending time? In other words, analytics gives you room for perfection.
Oversending or undersending
You need to balance between spam and healthy consistency all the time keeping in mind the statistics: 69% of users will unsubscribe because of too many emails; however, 80% of deals will require at least 5 contacts before closing. You need to develop your own ideal number of follow-up emails required to close a deal depending on your product and how fast your offers change.
Not calling to action
Not including a CTA to your email after you learn that it increases clicks by 371% and sales by 1617% is a suicide. Seasoned marketers recommend using a button with a short, large, stimulating, and first-person text instead of a link for the CTA.
Bottom line
Practice makes perfect. Paying genuine attention to your recipients’ behavior with the help of analytics and finding ways to speak to their hearts guarantees great marketing results.
